Retired Irish soldier asked to testify

A retired Irish soldier has been asked to testify at the deportation hearing of a Lebanese man accused of executing two Irish peacekeepers more than three decades ago.

John O’Mahony, from Cork, was contacted by the United States embassy in London and asked if he would be willing to tell his story via video link to the hearing, due to be held next Monday in Detroit.

Former Private O’Mahony survived after he, two of his colleagues, and others were kidnapped in Lebanon by Christian militia allied to Israel. Privates Derek Smallhorne and Tom Barrett were tortured and killed, allegedly by Mahmoud Bazzi, now 71 and living in Dearborn, Michigan.